Canine Groom School Ltd

Canine Groom School Ltd

Address: Howgill Farm, Howgill Lane, Rimington, Clitheroe, BB7 4EF Unique reference number (URN): 2804848

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, learners are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect providers for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The provider has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The provider has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff have established a culture where apprentices feel supported and valued. Leaders have invested in an external support service to provide apprentices with personalised learning and wellbeing support. They ensure that they identify apprentices’ needs and that interventions are put in place quickly. Apprentices with additional learning needs work with external learning mentors who provide learning techniques, study planners and examination preparation strategies. Assistive software mentors help apprentices use digital tools and applications effectively. Staff use adaptive teaching strategies confidently. They provide apprentices who have dyslexia with useful mind mapping software, check lists and training videos to support their recall.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Wellbeing mentors provide tailored support for apprentices facing barriers to their mental health. They provide helpful guidance on emotional regulation, stress management, and how to cope with change or anxiety. Apprentices attending the training centre benefit from communal spaces and a café used as a wellbeing hub. They visit alpacas on site to help them to take time out.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders provide a laptop loan scheme to support apprentices facing economic disadvantage. For a very few young apprentices who do not have level 2 English and/or mathematics qualifications, leaders support them to sit their examinations prior to commencing their apprenticeships.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders and advisory board members aspire to provide high-quality training to meet the needs of apprentices and employers in the canine and animal care sectors. They use feedback from stakeholders to inform decisions that are in apprentices' best interests. Leaders ensure that apprentices achieve additional qualifications that are recognised in canine and animal care industries to meet employers' needs.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders use a range of appropriate quality assurance processes, including observations and learner surveys to confirm strengths and to identify priorities for improvement. They provide advisory board members with comprehensive information. Advisory board members have a generally accurate understanding of the quality of provision. They support leaders to review priorities, ensure statutory duties are met, and work proactively to remedy any areas for improvement. Leaders rightly recognise the need to ensure that infrastructure and resources are in place in order to meet the needs of future apprentices. For example, they plan to build resources to support apprentices without English and/or mathematics qualifications or apprentices who are in care or are care leavers.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders ensure that staff are supported to maintain manageable workloads. Staff value the actions that leaders take to reduce their working days such as scheduled working from home days. Leaders provide staff with access to a plethora of useful training to hone their teaching skills and maintain industry currency. Tutors attend grooming shows and specialist seminars. They use these events to enhance apprentices’ training. Tutors apply their training in coat types to teach apprentices precise grooming techniques to achieve a natural coat texture.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices, including those with barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, achieve consistently well and make swift and sustained progress from their starting points. Almost all apprentices achieve their apprenticeships and gain the highest grades in their final assessments.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices build substantial new knowledge and skills. Apprentices studying the dog groomer apprenticeship skilfully use grooming methods such as Asian Fusion. They identify accurately medical conditions such as zoonotic diseases and how to manage skin conditions such as canine seborrhoea. Apprentices studying the animal care and welfare manager apprenticeship handle and exercise a range of dog breeds adeptly.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices produce work of a very high standard. They use specialist terminology such as ‘dolichocephalic’, ‘brachycephalic’ and ‘mesocephalic’ to describe skull shapes accurately. Apprentices calculate cutting angles and dilution ratios for medicated shampoos exactly.

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Achievement Strong standard

Apprentices are very well prepared for their next steps. They progress to positive destinations in employment, self-employment or further training.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders offer apprenticeships in dog grooming and animal care to meet the increasing demand for qualified and skilled staff in these industries. They work closely with employers to review curriculums. They ensure that training continues to meet sector needs so that apprentices are prepared well for the workplace. Leaders have a clear understanding of the quality of curriculum, teaching and training. They check that employers are qualified and possess the skills required to meet their high expectations. Leaders provide training for employers in working with specific dog breeds or scissor work to remedy any skills gaps.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors sequence curriculums effectively so that apprentices are taught key theoretical concepts and apply these principles in practical tasks. They teach apprentices studying the animal care and welfare manager apprenticeship the fundamentals of animal behaviours, nutritional planning, transportation and accommodation. Apprentices then apply these principles to conduct welfare assessments accurately.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors mostly use effective teaching strategies. They use clear demonstrations to teach apprentices how to complete canine health checks using body condition score assessments. Tutors plan time for apprentices to practise these skills. Apprentices check capillary refill time and explain the impact of saliva and its enzymes on dogs’ skin accurately.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Tutors typically use a range of well-considered assessment methods that they adapt effectively to meet apprentices’ needs. They enable apprentices who are neurodiverse to respond to questions using speech-to-text functions in online platforms. Apprentices provide precise explanations of how to use styptic powder as a coagulant for small abrasions when trimming dogs' nails.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders and staff have established high expectations for apprentices’ attitudes and behaviours in and around the training centre. Apprentices adhere closely to these expectations. They are polite, professional and respectful in their interactions with staff, peers, clients and customers. However, in online lessons tutors do not consistently instil online professional behaviours such as to have cameras on and to be ready to learn.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices mostly have high attendance to their training. In a few instances where apprentices’ attendance is lower than expected, leaders offer additional classes to help them to catch up quickly.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Apprentices feel safe at work, in the training centre and online. They know how to report any concerns that they may have. Apprentices know that bullying or harassment are never tolerated.

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Participation and development Expected standard

Leaders provide apprentices with a range of carefully considered wider opportunities, including additional qualifications in mental health and dog grooming. Apprentices mostly benefit from high-quality online masterclasses from industry experts. Most apprentices attend prestigious industry events that extend their knowledge of specialist industry roles. In addition, leaders provide useful resources in CV writing and interview skills. Apprentices are prepared well for the workplace and aspire to progress to roles as animal behaviourists, veterinary nurses or stylists.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices value the positive culture of Canine Groom School where they are encouraged and supported to achieve. They receive highly effective personalised support from staff and external practitioners. Apprentices remain in their training, build self-belief and reach their full potential.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices are enthusiastic about the training that they receive from tutors, who are subject experts. They acquire substantial new knowledge, skills and behaviours that extend beyond the apprenticeship standard. Apprentices apply their knowledge of coat growth cycles, breed styling and scissor work to groom different breeds of dogs competently. They identify accurately symptoms of snake bites and articulate the benefits of homeopathy for dogs that have allergies to vaccines.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices acquire confidence and independence in their workplace roles. They use structured frameworks accurately when holding challenging conversations with clients. Apprentices interact with empathy and professionalism when explaining to clients that their pets are overweight. Employers appreciate how apprentices work with increasing autonomy, take on additional responsibilities and enrich their workplaces.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices access opportunities to broaden their knowledge and skills. They attend workshops on a range of topics, including canine oral hygiene, taught by external industry specialists. Apprentices studying the dog groomer apprenticeship complete qualifications in animal first aid. They access digital masterclasses in speed show trims and competition trims to enhance their grooming skills. Apprentices value studying dedicated units in preventative healthcare, common drugs and supplements, common illnesses and walking and caring for dogs.

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What it's like to be a learner and/or an apprentice at this provider

Apprentices are prepared very well for their final assessments. Tutors instil belief in those that they teach. They use flash cards, knowledge checks and mind maps to help apprentices to remember and recall key concepts. Most apprentices achieve merit or distinction grades and become passionate advocates for the school and the industries in which they work.

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Next steps

Leaders should establish strategies that consistently enhance the opportunities of all apprentices, and to anticipate and respond to future needs, including apprentices without level 2 English and/or mathematics qualifications. Leaders should strengthen expectations for apprentices’ attendance and behaviours in online lessons to sustain a culture of professional training. Leaders should ensure that apprentices receive high-quality careers guidance throughout their apprenticeships to ensure that all apprentices acquire a detailed and assured knowledge of future career pathways and how to achieve these.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 21 July 2026

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Total learners

Leaders and advisory board members should ensure continued improvement in the quality of teaching and training to sustain high rates of achievement for all apprentices.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with leaders, tutors, apprentices, advisory board members, stakeholders and employers during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the provider:

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About this inspection

Canine Groom School Ltd is an independent learning provider based in Clitheroe, Lancashire. It specialises in training in the canine and animal care sectors. Teaching and training is delivered online and face-to-face.

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About this inspection

At the time of the inspection, there were 56 apprentices. Forty-six apprentices were studying the level 2 dog groomer apprenticeship. Ten apprentices were studying the level 3 animal care and welfare manager apprenticeship. There were 20 apprentices aged 16 to 18. There were no apprentices working towards achieving qualifications in mathematics and/or English.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other providers can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The provider reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The provider is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The provider needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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